By Xoel Cardenas, Sr. Communications Specialist, Office of the Vice President for Research

Undergraduate research at the University of Utah shined bright and was celebrated, as the future leaders and innovators of tomorrow and their mentors were honored at the Office of Undergraduate Research Awards, held on April 1 in the Union Building Ballroom.

Each year, the Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) recognizes U students and mentors with several awards, including the Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher Award, the Outstanding Undergraduate Research Mentor Award, and presents certificates to scholarship recipients.

OUR states the event “fosters a healthy research culture as one that includes recognition.”

“This event is spectacular this year,” said Dr. Annie Fukushima, Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies and Director of the Office of Undergraduate Research, who gave the opening remarks at the awards ceremony. “Undergraduate research is a public good. What our students do to foster research in their collaborations – whether it’s a research team of one or many – is that they are furthering knowledge and supporting the university’s mission as well as having impact on society, changing people’s lives.”

Dr. Mitzy Montoya, provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs, gave words of inspiration to attendees, saying undergraduate research at the U is an experience unlike students will find at other institutions.

“For our students, this is what makes it different to be at one of America’s leading research universities in the country,” Montoya said. “Congratulations to you for your engagement in research. I hope that it’s piqued for you what will be a lifelong love of problem-solving and question-asking and answering which never does anything but lead to more questions.”

Dr. Erin Rothwell, vice president for research, also spoke at the event and took time to acknowledge the mentors who teach and help make their students better researchers. Rothwell stated the educational experiences mentors are creating with their mentees are not only helping with retention, they are improving their student’s future and time to graduation.

“(Undergraduate research) strengthens written and oral communication. It strengthens critical thinking, technical skills and information literacy,” said Rothwell. “The results that are demonstrated even by novice researchers who engage in at least two semesters of undergraduate research are more likely to graduate in less time, more likely to go to grad school, and significantly more likely to graduate from grad school.”

AWARDS AND SCHOLARSHIPS

The 2024 Monson Prize Award, presented to an undergraduate who writes an outstanding paper on a subject having to do with social change, was awarded to Pablo Cruz-Ayala, whose paper submitted is entitled “Non-Objective and Subject Matter Dependent Visual Stimulus in Artwork: Investigating Accessible Art Therapies for Vulnerable Populations.”

Cruz-Ayala’s study “investigates the impact of art-based interventions on heart rate variability (HRV) and emotional regulation among undocumented immigrant populations,” according to OUR’s website. Professor John Erickson (College of Fine Arts) served as Cruz-Ayala’s faculty mentor.

Several other scholarships were awarded at the event. The Francis Endowment Fund recognizes outstanding undergraduate researchers in the arts, social sciences, and the humanities. The Lawrence T. Dee and Janet T. Dee Foundation was established by Lawrence Taylor and Janet Teller Dee in 1971 for the purpose of promoting charitable activities in Ogden and the surrounding area. The Parent Fund is sustained by parents and supports student-centered programs and initiatives. More information on all three scholarships, including eligibility requirements and lists of previous winners, can be found on OUR’s website.

A full list of this year’s honorees can be found below.

Click here to watch a recording of the awards ceremony.

 

Full list of honorees:

OUTSTANDING UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCHER AWARD

ARCHITECTURE + PLANNING
Tae Eun Ko (Mentor: Professor Andy Hong)

CULTURAL & SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION
Jorge Jimenez (Mentor: Professor Edmond Fong)

EDUCATION
Michael Molenaar (Mentor: Professor Frankie Laanan and Jason Burrow-Sanchez)

ENGINEERING
Ethan Gallup (Mentors: Professors Kody Powell)
Andrew Tolton (Mentor: Professor Zlatan Aksamija)

FINE ARTS
Alix Wright (Mentor: Professor Mosses Williams)

HEALTH
Maren Curtis (Mentor: Professor Adriana M Coletta)

HONORS
Nehal Bakshi (Mentor: Professor Melissa Watt)

HUMANITIES
Pierce Christoffersen and Kalista Leggitt (Mentor: Professor Matt Haber)

MEDICINE
Alejandra Michelle Huerta Hernandez (Mentor: Professor Jennie Hill)

MINES & EARTH SCIENCES
Autumn Hartley (Mentor: Professor Sarah Lambart)

NURSING

Michaella Halweg (Mentor: Professor Rebekah Perkins)

PHARMACY
Kylee McManus (Mentor: Professor Shreya Goel)

SCIENCE
Dua Azhar (Mentor: Professor Sophie Caron)

SOCIAL & BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES
Andrew Clothier (Mentor: Professor Tabitha Benney)
Haley Parsons (Mentor: Professor Katie Baucom)

SOCIAL WORK
Xochitl Juarez (Mentor: Professor Theresa Martinez)

 

OUTSTANDING UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH MENTOR AWARDS

ARCHITECTURE + PLANNING

Andy Hong, Ph.D.

CULTURAL & SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION

Lisa Diamond, Ph.D.

EDUCATION

Lauren Liang, Ph.D.

ENGINEERING

Jacob George, Ph.D.

FINE ARTS

Hubbel Palmer

HEALTH

Will Holland, Ph.D.

HUMANITIES

Maureen Mathison, Ph.D.

MEDICINE

Melissa Watt, Ph.D.

MINES & EARTH SCIENCES

Sarah Lambart, Ph.D.

NURSING

Sara Simonsen, Ph.D.

PHARMACY

Hamid Ghandehari, Ph.D.

SCIENCE

Sophie Caron, Ph.D.

SOCIAL & BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES

Shane Macfarlan, Ph.D.

SOCIAL WORK

Lindsay Gezinski, Ph.D.

 

MONSON PRIZE AWARD

Pablo Cruz-Ayala (Prof. John Erickson) – Non-Objective and Subject Matter Dependent Visual Stimulus in Artwork: Investigating Accessible Art Therapies for Vulnerable Populations
 

FRANCIS FAMILY FUND SCHOLARSHIP

Nia Brooks (Tracey Lamb) – Investigating the Role of Microglia in Experimental Cerebral Malaria

Cameron Davis (Douglas Mackay) – Probing the Role of Nup50 in the DNA Damage Response

Gabriel Hammond (Timothy Webster) – Genomic Analysis of Male Reproductive Skew in Bornean and Sumatran Orangutans

Halisha Knipe (Timothy Webster) – Correcting a Bioinformatic Alignment Error in Archaic Genomes

Clara Kramer (Jeffrey Bates) – Temperature-Dependent Effects of Nanoparticle Addition on the Performance of an Alternative Polymer Ski Base Material

Haley Parsons (Katie Baucom) – Cultural Adaptations and Modifications to Behavioral Interventions: Application to Diabetes Prevention for Latine Adults

Rachel Ricks (Anandh Babu Pon Velayutham) – Does Dietary Blueberries Modulate Tau Aggregates and Prevent Alzheimer’s Disease Complications in PS19 Mice?

Maddox Riewald (Aaron Puri) – Characterization of an Anti-Fungal Natural Product Produced by Methylobacter tundripaludum strain 21/22

 

DEE SCHOLARSHIP

Aksel Anderson (Rob MacLeod) – Three-Dimensional Mapping of Ischemic Zones and Coronary Perfusion

Cassandra Burdick (Caleb Thomson) – Box and Blocks-Virtual Reality Environment

Kyle Harshany (Will Holland) – The effect of the gain and loss of neuronal ceramides on behavior in an early onset Alzheimer’s mouse model

Rui Jin (Rob MacLeod) – Integration of Electrogram Signal Processors: OpenEP and PFEIFER

Maddie Lodico (Chuck Dorval) – Evaluating the response sensitivity of axons, from realistic geometries of axon trajectory, to optimize contact location for deep brain stimulation

Irvane Nelson (Owen Chan) – The efficacy of the novel somatostatin receptor 2 antagonist, ZT-01, given via an osmotic pump to restore glucagon secretion in diabetic rats

Elizabeth Russo (Annie Fukushima) – Dear Sister Letter Campaign

Nick Thomson (Yan-Ting Shiu) – Investigating Sex Differences in Arteriovenous Fistula Maturation

 

PARENT FUND SCHOLARSHIP

Libby Brooks (Natasha Pavlova) – Nutrient Release of Tumor Stroma is Controlled by Glucocorticoids

Logan Lancaster (Haohan Zhang) – Using OpenSim to Model, Simulate, and Improve Gait Symmetry in Stroke Survivors

Carmen Nieznanski (Daniel Leung) – Kinetics of Vibrio Cholerae Antibody Responses among Cholera Patients in Goma, DRC, Frequency Distribution of Cholera Antibody Responses in Females vs Males in Haiti

Alison Nopper (Andrew Roberts) – Deaminative contraction chemistry for the synthesis of [2.2] paracyclophane and asymmetric derivatives

 

More information on the nomination process and award criteria can be found on the OUR website.